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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490992">Crackdown</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796'>Inkribbon796</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Masks and Maladies [85]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Jacksepticeye Fandom, Markiplier fandom - Fandom, Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arrest, Deception, Dysfunctional Family, M/M, Magic, People just trying their best, Secret Identity, Sibling Rivalry, overprotective Dark, superhero au, upset Chase, upset Eric</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:09:45</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,934</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25490992</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkribbon796/pseuds/Inkribbon796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The heroes take all their information to put a stop to some of the crime and corruption is the city. Some of their operation goes easy, but threats are not often what they seem.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton, Driplierst, Eric Derekson/Illinois, Mark Fischbach/Amy Nelson, darkstache</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Masks and Maladies [85]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538131</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>43</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Broken Trust</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Chase and Damien have a long overdue discussion, and Damien has an ultimatum for the heroes.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    It was Sunday, the same time that Chase liked to come over, practice magic tricks and talk. Damien was already packing up so he’d be ready to leave after practice.</p><p>    Chase walked in, barely knocking, “Hey Dames, how’s yer day been?”</p><p>    “The usual,” Damien answered. “Voting season is coming around again.”</p><p>    “Yah going ta try an’ be mayor again,” Chase asked.</p><p>    Damien seemed to be thinking on that, “This town has really turned around from how it used to be.”</p><p>    “Yeah,” Chase smiled. “You’ve really helped out, why’d you want to work in politics.”</p><p>    Damien shrugged, “I was steered always towards it as a child, but this city is its own beast.”</p><p>    Chase nodded thoughtfully, “One last question.”</p><p>    “You can ask as many as you want,” Damien promised.</p><p>    The veteran hero nodded, then looked the mayor directly in the eyes, “Was any of this real ta yeh?”</p><p>    Damien looked confused, “Any of what?”</p><p>    Chase motioned between them, “This yeh an’ me fake friendship yah’ve been makin’ fun ‘a me wit’ cause it sure as shite ain’t funny ta me.”</p><p>    “Ahh,” Damien answered in recognition. The Mayor leaned forward, “What do you think, hero?”</p><p>    “I think yer a shite friend, the worst I e’er had,” Chase informed humorlessly.</p><p>    However serious Chase tried to make his tone, Damien laughed all the same, a thoughtful look on his face, “At least I know how thorough your little invisible apprentice is.”</p><p>    “This isn’t funny,” Chase spat, Damien still looking pleased with himself and more than a little smug. “Yer whole story about a fookin’ family, is that why yeh targeted me?”</p><p>    “Well, you were the one who grew attached to me,” Damien offered. “It’s not my fault you and the entire town couldn’t do your research.”</p><p>    Silver walked in at that point, “Hey, Mr. Mayor, you corrupt asshole.”</p><p>    “It took you all four years,” Damien smiled, almost silently chuckling to himself, “I don’t know what’s more humiliating: the fact that I’ve been here for four years, or your little side show magic act never suspected a thing.”</p><p>    “Don’t yeh fookin’ bad mouth Marv,” Chase spat, slamming a spike into Damien’s desk and the whole room supercharged with magic, painfully charging Dark’s form, bringing a pained scream from Dark. A blue and red echo, one clearly looking like Damien and the other like Celine, floated behind him for the length of the charge before Dark grabbed the spike with his aura and snapped it in half. His echoes dissipated and Dark stood in Damien’s place, smoothing back his hair and straightening his blazer.</p><p>    “Amateur hour, indeed,” Dark’s ringing was in full force, a slightly more angry tone to his voice. “That was an attempt that should have been made by a more skilled mage, or at least with the mage in question present.”</p><p>    “So you’re taking hosts now,” Mark tried not to sound nervous at Marvins’s enchantment clearly not working, they’d planned the whole fight around it. “Thought you hated the idea of it.”</p><p>    “Define host,” Dark answered, “forcing myself to placate a thinking, slowly rotting flesh sack, does seem trivial and a waste of my energy.”</p><p>    “What did yah do ta Damien and Celine?” Chase spat.</p><p>    “The better question is what did <em> they </em> do,” Dark redirecting the conversation.</p><p>    “Don’t redirect the conversation,” Chase spat. “We’re putting yer host under arrest.”</p><p>    Dark laughed at that again, “Oh, like I’m so much more defeatable and able to be arrested all of the sudden. This vessel has housed me for so long it will crumble to dust if I leave it. So I’m going to propose a new plan for you heroes.”</p><p>    The Entity walked around his desk, Chase taking a step back while Silver stepped in front of him protectively. “I’m not going to be placed under arrest. You heroes have two options: One, you go public with the fact that I’ve been your intrepid, hapless mayor. The town is disillusioned with the authority of the city, again, and I suddenly have more free time to run my network again. Or, two, I continue being mayor indefinitely, or at least until I get bored of being in the position again. Either way, I win and you lose.”</p><p>    “Again?” Chase questioned.</p><p>    Dark seamlessly turned back into Damien, his blue soul looking like it did before Marc violently ripped his soul from his body. “Damien used to be the Mayor of Egoton, and has been quite insistent on being mayor again.”</p><p>    “What about the kids you kidnapped?” Silver spat angrily.</p><p>    “Kidnapped?” Dark repeated, summoning his cane and smoothly tapping it to the ground. “I did no such thing.”</p><p>    “How about the orphanages yeh bribed ta take a couple ‘a their kids, or the boy yeh had Ed take off the street from his actual parents.” Chase accused.</p><p>    Dark gripped the top of his cane, studying them for a second or two, “You’ve been talking to Yancy.”</p><p>    “An’ yer not takin’ ‘em back,” Chase threatened.</p><p>    “You are not taking what is mine,” Dark threatened in return.</p><p>    “Yeh don’t own children, yeh self righteous prick,” Chase spat.</p><p>    The Entity could still see down the hall since Silver had failed to close it, and the demon could see J.J standing there, his pocket watch in hand. In and instant Dark’s attention went from Silver and Chase to J.J. His whole being became even colder and his shell cracked and splintered, his aura lashing out. “No!”</p><p>    Dark moved through the Void and lunged for J.J, aiming for the pocket watch in his hands. “Don’t you dare!”</p><p>    J.J didn’t activate his pocket watch, he pocketed it and waited for Dark to get in close to grab him by the jacket, to get his hand on some part of Dark’s actual being, but Dark was faster.</p><p>    He’d been under J.J’s magic before, and while he’d been inhibited by the illusion of the Actor, he knew it was dangerous and slammed into J.J with his aura, stabbing his right shoulder with his aura and pinning him to the ground. Dark had his cane pressed into his other shoulder. There were muted, pained noises coming from the normally silent hero, but Dark was neither merciful nor lenient.</p><p>    “You are not taking them from me, I will not allow it!” Dark roared. “I would sooner drown you in your own blood!</p><p>    Something electric hit Dark’s back since he was so laser-focused on J.J he’d mentally forgotten about the two heroes in his mayoral office behind him. While Dark was quickly recovering, Silver slammed into Dark and threw them both through a window and to the ground outside.</p><p>    “Jay!” Chase rushed over to his injured friend.</p><p>    Dark was fighting against Silver, trying to tear his way back to J.J. “Let me go, what the hell do you know.”</p><p>    “I’m not letting you kill someone in front of me,” Silver denied, sturdier against Dark than any other hero or human could have been in that moment.</p><p>    The Entity literally growled at Silver, but when he looked back in J.J’s direction and saw a pair of black shoes.</p><p>    “The Silver Shepherd should release the Entity,” the Host said as Dark took in the appearance of the young man in front of him, his long tan coat and bloodied bandages over his eyes.</p><p>    “Like hell I’m letting him go,” Silver shouted. “He’s going to kill Jay.”</p><p>    “The Entity will stop once he learns the mute hero cannot turn time farther back than a week,” the Host said.</p><p>    Silver felt Dark stiffen as Silver was pried off of the Entity by Dark’s aura and Silver floated a bit off the ground, prepared to grab Dark if he attacked Host or went after J.J again.</p><p>    Dark stood, looking over the Host, the tension slowly leaking out of him before asked, “Arthur?”</p><p>    The Entity studied the Host again, giving a rather suspicious and angry glance Silver’s way, “What happened to you?”</p><p>    “The Author went after the Entity’s archnemesis,” the Host answered, all Dark’s attention snapping to the Host.</p><p>    “Hey, I didn’t do anything to him,” Silver quickly tried to divert Dark’s anger before it turned on him.</p><p>    “Not you, you hyperactive man child,” Dark snapped at Mark. Then he became thoughtful. “However now that I say that out loud you do remind me of him.”</p><p>    “I’m not your archnemesis?” Silver didn’t know whether to be relieved or insulted.</p><p>    “Of course not, you’re practically human,” Dark snarled.</p><p>    “Regardless of the Entity’s antagonistic rivalry with the Silver Shepherd, the Actor is coming for the Anomaly and for the Entity.”</p><p>    “When?” Dark demanded. “How do you know?”</p><p>    “Soon,” the Host answered. “When the Author tracked down the Actor he was unprepared and controlled by his pride. So when he encountered the Actor the curtain of this world was pulled back.”</p><p>    “I told you not to go after him,” Dark reminded curtly. “We are having a long talk about this afterwards.”</p><p>    “And the Author did not listen,” the Host reminded. “As his punishment he was driven mad and tore his own eyes out, and the Host awoke in his stead.”</p><p>    Dark just stared at the Host, his eyes huge and for the first time, Silver saw fear in his eyes. “What?”</p><p>    “The Author is no more and the Host exists in his place,” the Host answered. “The Author could not handle that he wasn’t the master of his own story, that he was merely a piece on the board, and much like the Colonel, the Author’s mind gave way before the world around him did.”</p><p>    The Entity seemed pinned in place, at a loss for words at first. “How different are you then, Host?”</p><p>    “The Host remembers the people the Author killed, he remembers everything, including the lengths the Entity went to try and protect him and his other children despite the fact it would have been easier to abandon such a violent child.”</p><p>    “I would never abandon you,” Dark promised, “even if you are different now.”</p><p>    “The Host knows that now, even if the Author believed he had to compete for that affection,” the Host reassured. Then the Host ripped open a hole in the Void with his narrations, his eyes bleeding heavily.</p><p>    “Stop,” Dark stepped closer, sounding agitated, “I can open the Void, you don’t need to overexert yourself.”</p><p>    “The Host is not interested in returning so soon to the Manor,” The Host refused. “But he and the Entity have much to talk about.”</p><p>    “Fine,” Dark huffed, walking through the portal with barely a word. “However, I am opening the next one.”</p><p>    The Host smiled at Silver, “The heroes should take their wounded and regroup with their colleagues.”</p><p>    “I’m not leaving you alone with that psycho,” Silver declared.</p><p>    “Not too long ago such words were leveled at the Host, and the Entity would sooner harm himself than the Host,” the Host promised. “Now go, the Host cannot talk the Entity into distraction forever.”</p><p>    He gave a smile with way too many teeth and went to follow Dark through the Void portal. It closed immediately as J.J was limping out of City Hall with Chase. Chase didn’t look happy, but Silver knew he deserved to be more than a little pissed.</p><p>    “The others called,” Chase told him, supporting J.J’s body. “They’ve got the other kids, but the Host is in Damien’s office.”</p><p>    “We should leave,” Silver said, “Host seems to have it under control, and J.J looks like he needs stitches.”</p><p>    “Yeah,” Chase agreed reluctantly, looked at J.J in worry, “yer not fightin’ that arse again.”</p><p>    J.J gave him a tired but belligerent glare, huffing out wordlessly.</p><p>    “We shouldn’t leave Host alone, even if nothing happens,” Silver decided.</p><p>    “Nope,” Chase agreed. “Take J.J, I’ll wait for Host.”</p><p>    “I can’t leave you alone either,” Silver refused, but took J.J knowing it was faster and safer to fly him to Iplier.</p><p>    “Let me watch after the kid, please,” Chase asked.</p><p>    “Fine, don’t take any risks,” Silver demanded.</p><p>    “I won’t,” Chase promised and Silver flew off to take care of Chase and meet up with the other heroes at the police station.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Little Wooden Soldiers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The heroes go to arrest three of Dark’s closest enforcers, and things seem to be going unusually smoothly.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Illinois, Bim, and Yan’s scenes are happening at the same time.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    Twenty minutes before Dark’s standoff with the heroes, Eric and Illinois were running around what should have been an abandoned warehouse but was full of a local gang that was being mind controlled by some cursed cat totem, it was also summoning stone creatures that ranged from human-like to amorphous amalgamations of rocks.</p><p>    They ran around the warehouse like maniacs, Eric screaming and exploding rock statues into dust and rubble, and Illinois was close by taking care of the actual humans.</p><p>    With the totem contained and its former human puppets unconscious the two quickly made out and left, Illinois calling the cops so that the gang would be arrested. This made sure the neighborhood was safe from them and Dark had one less rival group to deal with. Eric quickly changed out of his costume so they could walk hand-and-hand to a diner they liked to go to.</p><p>    “So it do-doesn’t summon cat-s?” Eric frowned as Illinois slid the totem into a little pocket Void space in his hat. They were crossing a park to save on time, only a couple people still in the park.</p><p>    “Nah,” Illinois put his hat back on his head and took Eric’s hand again. “Be cool if it could, be funny to watch probably. I know Kay would like something like that.”</p><p>    Eric giggled as they walked out onto the street, “Tonight’s been a lot of fun.”</p><p>    “Always the plan, <em> dulcito </em>,” Illinois winked, clicking his tongue and tipping his hat.</p><p>    “So wh-ere are we go-ing?” Eric asked, smiling.</p><p>    “You know,” Illinois smiled widely at him, nudging him a little as they stopped just shy of the sidewalk. “We go to Shannon’s and then, I don’t know, it depends on if you’ve got patrol early tomorrow.”</p><p>    Eric blushed, looking away shyly, smiling.</p><p>    “Nah,” Marvin cut in, snapping his fingers and a large magic circle that took up almost half the park. He jumped down from a tree as both Eric and Illinois’s feet became magically locked in place.</p><p>    “Yer grounded,” Marvin told Eric, pointing to him as Marvin summoned giant playing cards that were glowing in a way Illinois did <em> not </em> like. “An’ adventure boy here is goin’ ta jail where he belongs.</p><p>    “D-on’t h-h-urt him,” Eric choked out, pulling his away from Illinois’s hand, his hands erupting into dozens of explosions on his fingers and palms.</p><p>    Abe stepped over, he’d been hiding behind a tree and had a TASER in his hands, Jackie zipping in to stand next to him and Marvin. “Come on, kid, this guy’s one of Dark’s most loyal enforcers, he’s bad news.”</p><p>    “I’m fu-cking tw-enty,” Eric was starting to get frustrated.</p><p>    “<em> Dulcito </em>,” Illinois called out, and Eric looked back at him. “It’s okay, I won’t even stay the night.”</p><p>    “They ca-can’t just ta-ke you,” Eric reminded, his voice choppy with agitation and frustration. “Wh-What-ever ha-ppened, you were with—”</p><p>    Illinois leaned in and Eric met him with a kiss. “We’ll have to take a rain check on that dinner date, sweetheart, but I should be out in an hour or two, even if the Old Man does post bail.”</p><p>    Eric was escorted away from Illinois, the young hero looking upset and betrayed at Jackie as Marvin disabled the circle and Abe immediately started reading Illinois his rights and cuffing him, but he made sure his wrists were in front of him where everyone could see them. “Illinois Jones, you are under arrest for conspiracy, murder, and theft.”</p><p>    As Abe started reading his rights, Illinois looked over at Eric and tried to give him a reassuring smile. A car drove up and Illinois let himself be put in the back with Marvin who looked braced to summon up something to further restrain him.</p><p>    As they drove away, Illinois let out a sigh of reliEd that Eric was safely away from them. Illinois glared at Marvin as the magician plucked his hat off his head. “If you destroy that it doesn’t get rid of the magic.”</p><p>    “Yeh should have called Dark when yeh had the chance,” Marvin reminded, the mage knew there was a little bronze that summoned Dark to Illinois’s location but he couldn’t see it. “Why not?”</p><p>    “Pardon me for being a good boyfriend and not wanting to get him hurt,” Illinois shot back.</p><p>    “I think yer scared ‘a Dark,” Marvin accused, a smug smile on his face.</p><p>    “Unlike almost everyone in this town, I’m not afraid of Dark, I’m just not interested in playing meet the parents yet. Unless someone can bring Derek back from the dead so I can properly acquaint him with the heel of my shoe.”</p><p>    “Yeah, yeah,” Marvin dismissed in disbelief, the Irishman’s attention turning to his communicator. “Package secure, how’s everyone else?”</p><p> <em> “Dorm 5 Killer under arrest,” </em> Amy answered.</p><p> <em> “We’ve got our end over here,” </em> Bob answered.</p><p> <em> “We’re done,” </em> Bing spoke up, <em> “heading back to the station now.” </em></p><p> <em> “We’ve got Dark but who knows how long he’ll stay distracted,” </em> Chase said over Marvin’s communicator.</p><p>~::~ ~::~ ~::~</p><p>    Inside the infamous radio station that still ran Wilford’s program, despite all the stabbing and shooting he’d inflicted upon his various <em> “guests” </em>.</p><p>    Bim was wrapping up shooting for his show and was excited to watch his dad work. The young show host had descended from the stage to find Wilford in a disagreement in the green room.</p><p>    The argument was winding down by the time Bim walked in. But the event meant that Wil was already a little worked up and everyone already knew someone was going to wind up dead, and Bim was already starting to get the starting itches of a craving and if someone died, Bim might not need to hunt someone down. It wouldn’t even be the first time Bim had picked from one of his father’s mad kills, even if it took some of the fun out of the hunt.</p><p>    “What happened?” Bim asked Wil, following him back towards the stage where they were setting up for Wilford’s show.</p><p>    “They switched out one of my segments and only now just told me,” Wil grumbled angrily, his strides angry and purposeful. Then the madman saw the reason for his ire, a man who was in a tan trench coat with bandages over his eyes. He was talking with the show runner while he sat on set.</p><p>    Wilford stomped over and Bim was braced for the gun to come out and blood to spatter the set, but as Wil started talking to the new interviewee Wilford seemed to be visibly calming down and eventually went to sit down.</p><p>    Surprised and more than a bit disappointed, Bim threw up his arms and started back towards the green room. He’d wait for the gunshot there, Dark and the Producer were the only two who could stop his dad mid-murder.</p><p>    So he waited and turned on the monitor to watch Wil as the show started. But as he watched his father open the show, he felt something like a heavy, invisible blanket fall over him and he was suddenly alone in the room with four heroes all in the room with him.</p><p>    “Bim Trimmer,” UFO floated a bit off the ground, Amy’s hair tied back so it couldn’t be grabbed. “You’re under arrest for the murders and disappearances of ten people.”</p><p>    As she began to read him his rights, Bim felt the room almost constrict around him. Robbie and Ethan were with Amy, Nate sitting in a chair by the door and the instant Ethan had pulled his aura dampening over Bim the singer began strumming slower music more befitting a lullaby. The result of Nate’s powers and Ethan’s dampening, unlike most other heroes, made Bim feel weird. The aura he’d inherited from Dark and Wilford fought being compressed into the ground, and for the first time in Bim’s life it could be visibly seen. It wasn’t the thrashing aura that Dark was infamous for, it clung to his body like a dark grey cloud that was tinged with purple.</p><p>    “Get off!” Bim growled, his aura attacking Ethan’s like it was a virus, and Ethan reflexively pulled away.</p><p>    Bim’s hand got halfway to the lapel of his suit coat and the bronze star hidden behind it that Dark had given him over fifteen years ago, scanning the room before his pride got the best of him, and he quickly pulled out his switchblade that Wil had etched with Bim’s name on the handle.</p><p>    “You all have a death wish or something?” Bim demanded, his aura invisible again with Ethan’s aura dampening was off of him. “Do you even know where you are?”</p><p>    “Wil’s not coming for you,” Nate reminded, still playing lullabies and classical pieces. “He gets tunnel vision on set, and nothing short of blowing the building will make him save you.”</p><p>    “I can protect myself!” Bim spat. “I don’t need anyone to save me.”</p><p>    Hidden by Ethan’s aura, Robbie appeared behind Bim and slammed his balled up fists into the back of Bim’s head and aided with some magical cuffs sewed into his sleeves the spell was strong enough to knock him out.</p><p>    Bim dropped to the ground and slumped onto the ground. Everyone in the room froze, braced for Dark to show up but after a minute nothing happened.</p><p>    “That was way too easy,” Ethan warned suspiciously as Robbie carefully picked him up.</p><p>    “Let’s just get out of here,” Nate decided, subtly trying to hide how he was rubbing his arm. “Before Wil comes to his senses, or Dark finds out.”</p><p>    Ethan extended his aura around them as they began to take Bim out of the station, Nate taking up the rear and Amy in the front. The whole group froze when a gunshot rang up, the death of the guest Wilford had second on his show.</p><p>    But when Wilford settled back into his chair like a surly child, the heroes finished taking Bim outside to the same armored car they put Wil into whenever he was arrested. The car keeping his magic contained as he was driven to the police station, Bim starting to slowly come to as he was cuffed and Amy was contacting Chase and the others to let them know their part of the mission was a success.</p><p>~::~ ~::~ ~::~</p><p>    Unlike the heroes had to do with Dark, Illinois, and Bim the third group didn’t have to worry about leading Yan into a trap. All it took was ambushing her in the street with one of Bob’s almost see through barriers.</p><p>    Yan was slashing at Bob’s barrier with her katana, screaming in a mix of Japanese, English, and Korean.</p><p>    “Look, we’re not going to hurt you,” Wade was trying to calm the angry, homicidal young woman from hurting anyone but at this point they might need to just stand here and wait for her to tire herself out. “We’re just taking you to jail with your brothers.”</p><p>    “Fuck off!” Yan screamed at them.</p><p>    “Here, let me try,” Patton smiled.</p><p>    “Sure, knock yourself out,” Wade shrugged, stepping away. “Go nuts, pal.”</p><p>    Patton moved in and placed his hands on the barrier, “Hey, you’re Yan right?”</p><p>    She shouted something at him in Japanese that sounded as angry and insulting, as it was rude and loud.</p><p>    “I’m Captain Morality, nice to meet you again,” Patton smiled, keeping his tone calm and even. “Look, we can’t let you out if you’re going to hurt people.”</p><p>    “The only one I’ll hurt are you assholes,” Yan spat, but at least she wasn’t screaming which was a good sign. Patton was calming her down.</p><p>    “So, we’re taking your brothers to the station and we want all of you in the same place,” Patton told her.</p><p>    Yan was quiet for a bit as Patton kept trying to calm her down, with almost an unsure tone she asked, “Is Artie going to be there?”</p><p>    Patton looked over at Bob and Wade who shrugged. So Patton leaned in, “Is that one of your brothers?”</p><p>    “My biggest brother,” Yan smiled sadly. “He went off with my other brother and they never came back. The Old Man said he and my other brother work for the heroes now but I haven’t seen them in years.”</p><p>    “Well,” Patton hummed, knowing the name Arthur wasn’t on the list but remembering what the Host had told him. “We’re trying to get all of you guys together to ask you a couple questions, so, yeah, he will be there.”</p><p>    Yan chuckled a bit, “You won’t get Artie, he makes people disappear.”</p><p>    “Well, we got some people that are hard to make disappear,” Patton promised.</p><p>    Yan rolled her eyes and laughed at that, in a way reminded Patton strangely of both Dark and Wil, but that made sense to him because she had apparently lived with them for so long.</p><p>    “So,” Patton smiled, “we’re going to bring you down to the station, and if you’re not going to help us we’re going to have to roll this thing all the way down there, and you might get motion sick.”</p><p>    The young villain thought on that, clearly weighing her options. Wade and Bob held their breaths.</p><p>    “Fine,” Yan grumbled, “but only because Artie might be there.”</p><p>    After that Yan was more than a bit silent after that, just letting them arrest her and take her off in a car, Bob riding with them so he could make sure she didn’t escape and stayed in communicating with Chase and the other team leaders.</p><p>    “You’ve got some freakishly creepy powers,” Wade told Patton.</p><p>    “Oh, sorry,” Patton’s smile vanished.</p><p>    “Nah, you’re not the only one like that, it’s just I rarely get to see it up close cause you live in the Gainesville area,” Wade apologized. “It’s just a good thing you’re one of the good guys.”</p><p>    “Yeah,” Patton looked away nervously. “My powers are probably why the Host put me with you guys instead of UFO like Silver wanted. Think the others are doing okay?”</p><p>    “Yeah,” Wade reassured. “I think they’re fine, they would have told us otherwise.”</p><p>    Patton and Wade followed their group heading back to the police station.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Give Parole a Chance</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Roman and King swing by to talk to Yancy.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title is a reference to Dr. Strangelove.<br/>Happens the same time as chapter 2.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    When the Host had gathered the heroes for the massive arrest operation, he’d outlined Yancy as a difficult part of his plan, then told Roman he was the only possible way to get Yancy on parole.</p><p>    At first Roman had rolled his eyes and figured that the Host was just being overdramatic about their chances. He’d been so overly confident he’d had Oliver, Bing, and King wait in another room.</p><p>    But Roman had been wrong.</p><p>    “Come on,” Roman pleaded, he was in full costume talking with Yancy in Happy Trails. Their discussion had gone from pleasant small talk to an absolute standstill.</p><p>    “Why won’t any of youse understand that I don’t wants ta leave?” Yancy spat at Roman.</p><p>    “You don’t find it a bit off putting that you barely have any memory of the event and you barely had a trial?”</p><p>    “What does it matter?” Yancy shot back. “I’s killed people, <em> good </em> people. Did they’s tell youse what I’s did?”</p><p>    “You killed your parents,” Roman answered gently.</p><p>    “My biological parents,” Yancy added. “They’s were good people, wish I’d have known them more, they’s didn’t deserve what happened ta them. An’ I’s murdered them.”</p><p>    “I understand that you’re afraid to get out there, but the facts are that you were being controlled by something and hiding in here isn’t helping, and if you need to get away from whatever was causing that horrible outburst, you need a place Dark can’t get into.” Roman was trying to stay calm but he didn’t understand why he had to be in here when Logan probably would have done a better job and this conversation would have been done, and Yancy walking out hours ago.</p><p>    At that point the door opened, and King walked in, he was in costume, but he took off his glasses and Yancy went completely still, “Kay?”</p><p>    Roman stared at King, “Have you been pulling a Clark Kent this whole time?”</p><p>    “Host’s enchantment works with on anything I put over my eyes,” King explained. “My glasses, my goggles, not that I’m going to need them after tonight.”</p><p>    “What’s goin’ on t’night?” Yancy asked in concern. “Where youse been, the Ol’ Man’s been looking fer youse fer ages?” Yancy asked.</p><p>    “Cleaning up my record,” King answered, rubbing something on the frame of his glasses before putting them back.</p><p>    “Youse gonna be at that awhile,” Yancy warned.</p><p>    “Yeah, the government tends to remember embezzlement and fraud,” King agreed.</p><p>    “I’s still don’t know why youse are here,” Yancy reminded. “Youse obviously like workin’ wit’ the heroes, I’m happy here. ‘Sides, we gots too different RAP sheets to take care ‘a an’ mine are way worse.”</p><p>    King made a deep sigh, “Illy’s is longer.”</p><p>    “He’s ne’er been arrested ta actually get one.” Yancy crossed his arms, closing himself off a bit, “No one beats Artie, no one.”</p><p>    “How about this?” Roman cut in, Yancy not looking away from King. “You try it, and if it doesn’t work out you can come back here with your friends. We get proven wrong and you can stay here.”</p><p>    Maybe it was how long the conversation had been going, the amount of people and forces pushing him to leave. Or maybe it was something else entirely.</p><p>    Yancy opened his mouth to refuse, like he had dozens of times, but to everyone’s surprise, especially his own, he answered, “Yes.”</p><p>    King’s eyes were huge, and Roman looked excited.</p><p>    “You won’t regret this,” Roman promised.</p><p> <em> I already do </em>, rattled around his skull as he watched Kay reach the door first.</p><p>    “I’ll talk to the Warden,” King said and Yancy felt like everything was spinning out of control.</p><p>    “Hey!” Yancy called putting and suddenly he was in almost the same room but it was darker and the table was made of wood instead of being hard plastic bolted to the floor.</p><p>    The Host was sitting across the table, smiling at Yancy. Yancy felt that similar discomfort from the last time he’d met the mystery man in his locked solitary cell.</p><p>    Yancy jumped, “Shit, youse can’t do that ta people.”</p><p>    “The Host greets the prisoner,” the Host announced, “and hopes that he is well.”</p><p>    “No, I’m not,” Yancy shouted, feeling all the anxiety and fear bubbling up inside him. “I’m already goin’ crazy an’ I’m not e’en out yet!”</p><p>    “The Host assures Yancy that he is having a completely normal reaction and has not slipped into the Void yet,” the Host answered calmly.</p><p>    “Normal, my ass,” Yancy slammed his fist on the table, before looking nervous. “I’s already slippin’.”</p><p>    “Has Yancy ever played chess before,” the Host asked.</p><p>    “I’s ain’t playin’ games wit’ yah, everytime I’s see yah yer like a creep,” Yancy spat. “What’s wrong wit’ youse?”</p><p>    “The Host has a vested interest in Yancy’s well-being,” the Host answered, “and he has come to give Yancy a warning.”</p><p>    “An’ I’s should listen ta youse, ‘cause?” Yancy demanded.</p><p>    “Because if Yancy remains in the prison while the Actor is back in Egoton, it will result in the deaths of every staff member and inmate in Happy Trails, with exception to Yancy himself.”</p><p>    Yancy just stared at him, “Dark?”</p><p>    “He will not do so with the intention of reclaiming Yancy,” the Host admitted, “the victims in question will just have the unfortunate luck of being too close to where Yancy is.”</p><p>    “An’ where should I be when Dark is on a murder spree? Next to him?” Yancy already felt like punching him.</p><p>    “Or with the heroes,” the Host answered. “The Host is hoping to reduce casualties.”</p><p>    “So what are youse getting out of this?” Yancy glared at him. “Money? Control?”</p><p>    The Host knit his fingers together, “The Host had a previous life of kidnapping and murdering people in gruesome ways and to make up for that past self he is trying to save those he can.”</p><p>    “Real noble fer the heroes ta take on convicted criminals,” Yancy commented.</p><p>    “Oh, the Author died before he could be caught or convicted,” the Host smiled, Yancy froze uncomfortably still, staring at his adopted brother in shock. “That and he is also overtly interested in one of the heroes’ doctors.”</p><p>    Yancy chuckled at the familiar but unexpected comment, “Classy, Artie, real class act.”</p><p>    The Host stood, “If Yancy will excuse <em> the Host </em>, he has to keep Dark from trying to kill several heroes.  If Yancy cooperates with the heroes now, then when this is over he will make sure Yancy returns to Happy Trails, regardless of what the heroes or Dark want.”</p><p>    Yancy thought on that, “I’ll hold you to it.”</p><p>    Smiling, the Host disappeared and the room came back into focus, Roman and the Warden walking back in with some papers.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Host took Yancy into a little pocket space like Author used to use for his stories, they never left the room.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Where Loyalties Lie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The heroes get to sit down with Yan, Bim, and Illinois and find that Dark and Wilford probably weren’t the terrible parents they thought they were.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>    While the first half of their operation went almost uncannily easily. The second part wasn’t. Almost all the heroes had initially thought that living with a murderous demonic mobster and a murder happy madman would have counted as a horrible traumatic incident that they would have been happy to get away from.</p><p>    They were wrong, apparently all three of them had glowing things to say about both parents.</p><p>    Patton was in with Abe and Jackie, trying to get information out of Yan. King immediately cut them off from talking to Yan when she started crying and wanting to call Wil. She did get to call him but the Host reassured the heroes that they weren’t going to get anything out of her.</p><p>    Bing was in talking to Bim, Oliver watching the building for security. “Come dude, you killed them, just admit it.”</p><p>    “What part about I want my fucking lawyer don’t you understand?” Bim shouted back.</p><p>    King was standing outside the room with his head in his hand. “Nice to see he hasn’t changed.”</p><p>    “Was he like this when you were kids?” Silver asked.</p><p>    “Yeah, he was always a bit of a spoiled brat,” King frowned. “Wil pretty much gave him anything he wanted, and for a while he was an only kid and was always kinda an attention whore.”</p><p>    “Sounds like hell,” Silver commented. “Why’d Dark and Wil get <em> five </em> more kids if they could barely handle one?”</p><p>    “Don’t know,” King shrugged. “Dark told us a story once about Bim being taken once and how we didn’t have to talk to other kids because statistically we had to like at least one of our siblings. Personally I think he was just a bit of a control freak.”</p><p>    “Is that why you left?” Silver asked.</p><p>    King sighed, “You know, Dark’s a piece of shit boss and I hated working for him, but he wasn’t actually a bad dad, never let me take the work home even if I wanted to.”</p><p>    Silver just looked at him, “Did he get kids just to work in the Network?”</p><p>    “No,” King corrected firmly. “For a long time we weren’t allowed to even ask about what he did. We knew he worked in his office from home or at the warehouses, and that was it. Hell, Dark didn’t even allow us to watch Wil’s show, you know, because he killed people on it.”</p><p>    “Then how’d you wind up working for him?” Silver asked.</p><p>    “It kinda just happened,” King answered. “Artie and Illinois started getting interested and I tagged along with Illy a lot, so when he started pestering Dark, I joined in and Dark suddenly found he had a vacancy as an assistant, not that that job existed before I asked him. He hated the idea of someone else with their hands on his work.”</p><p>    “He treated you guys good, right?” Silver asked. “Never seemed like the type of guy to be a caring father.”</p><p>    “He and Wil were miles and leagues better than the foster homes I’d been in before,” King answered, before looking away. “I’m getting some coffee.”</p><p>    King walked over, as Bing was coming out of the room.</p><p>    “Ok, so the little dude totally lawyered up and we’re at a standstill,” Bing said. “Dude’s obviously been coached on how ta talk when he’s arrested but I think we’ve enough ta go somewhere. He’s acting a bit off, I think he might be on somethin’ but we need more ta be able ta do a drug test, and e’en then it might come back a false positive because ‘a Wil.”</p><p>    “You know how they’re doing with the third little boy scout?”</p><p>    “Marv was goin’ on an’ on about brainwashin’ so who know how that’s going,” Bing threw his hands up and shrugged. “I’m gonna check on Ollie, see if Googs is givin’ him any trouble.”</p><p>    Silver found Amy standing outside the second interrogation room, Yan had been in that room but after her failed questioning she’d been put in her cell and Illy was moved in instead.</p><p>    “How’s it going?” Mark asked, watching an arguing match.</p><p>    “Probably shouldn’t have let Marvin’s talk to him,” Amy sighed.</p><p>    “We know he was doin’ magic on yeh?” Marvin argued.</p><p>    “You get off your high horse!” Illinois shouted back.</p><p>    “Where’s Eric?” Silver asked.</p><p>    “With Ollie,” Amy frowned, “Eric not talking to anyone except for him and King, he sure isn’t talking to Abe or Marvin.”</p><p>    “Yep, tapping in,” Silver decided, walking in. “Marv—”</p><p>    “You all can shove it,” Illinois decided, continuing to escalate the situation. “I don’t care if Artie and Kay are working with you, I don’t care whatever teen rebellion phase they’re in, I don’t care if you call me crazy and lock me up in the same cell as Yancy. None of you cared when Kay and I were being bounced between places, no one cared about us except for Dark. I am living the life I dreamed about and thought I’d never get as a kid. I get to travel the world and go to all these amazing places.”</p><p>    “Dark is a demon who manipulates people,” Marvin reminded.</p><p>    “I’m not crazy and Dark is not forcing me into living in the Manor, it’s my home, and I am not lying and saying that the person who took me in and protected me was an abusive monster, because he wasn’t!”</p><p>    Illinois angrily sat down, “You fuckers want anything else, you can talk to my lawyer.”</p><p>    After that, Illinois seemed to calm down enough and they had to move him back to his cell, it was Wilford’s anti-magic cell. So because there was one cell, all three of the siblings were in there, Bim sitting on the cot, and Yan in the chair as Illinois walked around and studied the cell.</p><p>    “This is so stupid, why are we even still here?” Bim’s faint aura was curled around him like a coat that was two sizes too big for him. Yan was poking at it inquisitively, making Bim swat at her hands. “Stop that.”</p><p>    “It’s cool,” Yan smiled, not listening to him. “It’s like the Old Man’s. How long have you had that?”</p><p>    “Dad has an aura too, you know,” Bim put his foot in-between her and his aura.</p><p>    “Wil’s aura isn’t grey,” Illinois reminded.</p><p>    Bim glared at Illinois, “You got something to say against Dad?”</p><p>    “Not to <em> your Dad </em>, we need to get out of here,” Illinois reminded coldly.</p><p>    “Yeah, whatever,” Bim grumbled, rolling his eyes.</p><p>    Then all three of them went quiet and Illinois was thankful for the moment to think.</p><p>    “Hey, Ills?” Bim started, his tone different.</p><p>    “What?” Illinois took a self-calming breath.</p><p>    “This a bad time to mention I’m hungry?” Bim admitted.</p><p>    Illinois resisted the urge to bang his head on the bars, “What type?”</p><p>    “The other one,” Bim replied.</p><p>    “How bad?” Illinois turned to look at him, the younger brother still looked human which was good.</p><p>    “A five,” Bim offered. “It was a two before they started messing with my aura.”</p><p>    “Okay, okay, we’ll get you someone when we get out of here,” Illinois promised, despite wanting to bang his head against the bars and scream in frustration.</p><p>    Anything else Illinois and Bim might have continued to talk about was stalled when the Host walked in, his bandages more than a bit stained with blood.</p><p>    “Can we help you?” Bim asked, his tone more than a bit hostile, and his attention laser focused on the man’s blood.</p><p>    Illinois had been studying the newcomer and some things stuck out. The long coat and bloody bandages, a sharp smile. Things that had plagued Arthur’s dreams as abstract and dark nightmares he’d confided in Illy before he ran away one day, and a figure that was stalking the young author’s mind. But there was something familiar about the person in front of him. “Author?”</p><p>    “The Author is dead, the Host reawoke in his body,” the Host explained. “He encountered an enemy of the Entity’s that he should not have tried to fight alone.”</p><p>    Yan stiffened as if she’d been shot or hit.</p><p>    Bim chuckled a bit nervously, “Nah, come on, this asshole’s lying, there’s no way Artie’s actually dead, he was a tough piece ‘a shit.”</p><p>    “As much as he would have appreciated such a barbed compliment,” the Host smiled, “the Author cannot come back. The Host is what remains.”</p><p>    “So Host,” Illinois stayed between Host and his other two siblings. “You working with the heroes.”</p><p>    “Yes,” Host answered. “He has been helping to keep the Entity out of the heroes’ base.”</p><p>    “Why?” Illinois demanded.</p><p>    “Because the Host has a conscious and no hero worship of the Entity,” the Host answered. “Unlike the Author or Illinois.”</p><p>    “You here to gloat, then?” Illinois asked.</p><p>    “Partially,” Host reassured, “however the main reason the Host is here now is to pass along a message from the Entity.”</p><p>    “Really?” Illinois said in disbelief.</p><p>    The Host gave a big smile, “Yes, the Host had the ability to speak and make a deal with the Entity from massacring the city’s police department in actuality instead of merely daydreaming about doing so.”</p><p>    “So what’s the message then?” Yan asked.</p><p>    “Three hours,” the Host told the three young enforcers.</p><p>    “What?” Yan asked as Illinois didn’t dare break eye contact with the Host.</p><p>    “The Entity will post bail for Illinois, Bim, and Yan,” the Host commented, “in exactly three hours from the time he made the deal with the Host. So the three siblings now have two hours and forty-five minutes.”</p><p>    “You asshole,” Illinois spat, turning to gently nudge Yan off her chair. “Tell him we’ll do it in under one.”</p><p>    The Host smiled, “The Host wishes them the best of luck. The heroes will not let them escape so easily.”</p><p>    Turning, the Host left, his narrations following him out,</p><p>    “Three hours?” Bim grumbled to Illinois. “Great, you’re not letting us take that are you?”</p><p>    Illinois tapped the chair a couple times before slamming it onto the ground and breaking it into pieces, “You shouldn’t want to take it.”</p><p>    The older enforcer handed a chair each to both Yan and Bim. Bim looked at it with disgust. “I want my knife.”</p><p>    “We’ll worry about getting your knife after we get out of this cell,” he promised and then took the fourth chair leg and waited for a guard to come back into their cell to guard them before throwing the sharp piece of metal at him.</p><p> </p><p>    Silver was staring out towards the parking lot. Dark was standing out there, anyone who had attempted to approach him had been attacked. Now he was just out there, occasionally glancing at his watch. Oliver has nervously reported that Google was in the area before hiding behind Bing, but Silver hadn’t spotted him yet.</p><p>    Eric was waiting by the door, glaring at Marvin who was readying one of the spikes that Chase had tried to use on Dark earlier.</p><p>    “Okay so I know the first one didn’t work, but <em> this </em> one should do the trick,” Marvin smiled.</p><p>    “Host said he won’t attack,” Silver reminded, still staring at Dark.</p><p>    “Right, trust a demon, sounds like a great idea,” Marvin rolled his eyes, before looking at Eric. “Hey kid, yah know one ‘a his kids, anythin’ we should be aware ‘a?”</p><p>    Eric’s glare became angrier.</p><p>    “Hey, Marv, maybe you shouldn’t bring up the boyfriend,” Silver offered.</p><p>    “His boyfriend’s an international criminal,” Marvin reminded.</p><p>    “G-Go to hell!” Eric shouted at him.</p><p>    “Eh, it’s a borin’ place,” Marvin dismissed. “Let me at Damien, I’ll pry Dark off of him.”</p><p>    “At least wait until he attacks,” Silver ordered. “We need all the help we can get, including the element of surprise.”</p><p>    The three of them stopped when they heard a scream from deeper into the station. Their communicators crackled to life.</p><p> <em> “Fookin’ shite!” </em> Chase yelled at someone on his side of the communicator. “He’s not fookin’ human, stop him.”</p><p>    “Average, the hell’s goin’ on?” Marvin demanded.</p><p>    “They’re escaping, an’ I think I know where Bim’s victims have been going,” Chase answered.</p><p>    “Guard the door,” Silver told Marvin. “Anybody got eyes on them?”</p><p>    “They’re headed your way, Silv,” Amy reported.</p><p>    Sure enough Silver could see Illinois walking down the hallway, dusting off his hat.</p><p>    “Illy!” Eric shouted in excitement.</p><p>    “Hey, <em> dulcito </em>,” Illinois winked, pulling out what looked like a solid white baton from inside his hat, “you mind stepping away from them, I don’t want you hit on accident.”</p><p>    “You need to go back to your cell,” Silver corrected, watching Yan and Bim walk over. The real concern was Bim, who had blood running down his chin and staining his suit, his pupils blown wide open and his suit a bit ripped up.</p><p>    “You hit the one to the left, and I’ll stomp your ankle in,” Illinois threatened Bim.</p><p>    “No promises,” Bim grinned, way too many sharp teeth to be anything close to human.</p><p>    “Fine,” Illinois grumbled.</p><p>    “How’d yah get out ‘a that cell?” Marvin demanded.</p><p>    “It’s calibrated for Wil, not us,” Illinois answered. “Sorry about the mess we might have made of the place.</p><p>    “Well I’ve been wanting to try out some new spells,” Marvin said.</p><p>    Bim stiffened and arched his back, collapsing as he was jolted with a TASER round from Chase’s gun. Chase was bleeding from the head above his eye and his right arm was ripped and bleeding.</p><p>    “Put that gobshite in a fookin’ straight jacket!” Chase ordered. “An’ a muzzle.”</p><p>    Bim literally growled out, and Illinois was pulling the studs out as Silver rushed over.</p><p>    “Come on, come on,” Illinois screwed his eyes shut and ducked.</p><p>    When he ducked down, Chase pulled the trigger again, but his attention slipped at that second from Illinois to Silver and as a result Silver wound up with a TASER found right in the dead center of his face. It didn’t do any real damage, merely stunning the flying hero.</p><p>    Silver screamed and Illinois shouted, “Run!”</p><p>    Bim tried to run for the only person in the vicinity who was bleeding, but Illinois tugged him towards the door.</p><p>    “No, we’re so close,” Illinois shouted. Bim hissed at him.</p><p>    “Yer not goin’ anywhere,” Marvin told them, summoning up one of his giant playing card. Yan summoned her katana and dropped into a stance.</p><p>    “Heads or tails?” Illinois shouted, flipping up a coin into the air.</p><p>    “What?” Marvin asked in confusion, before just firing as much magic that he could at them, trying to trap them in place.</p><p>    “Tails!” Illinois called out quickly. The magic beam hit the coin and magically redirected, wrapping around Marvin and the force throwing him out the window.</p><p>    “Out!” Illinois was dumping what looked like rainbow colored chalk dust in a line on the ground. Silver slammed into some kind of a barrier made by the dust.</p><p>    Yan was vaulting herself out the window and gasped in joy when she saw Dark.</p><p>    Illinois breathed in relief when Bim had enough self control to jump through the window instead of attacking Eric.</p><p>    Right before Illinois could jump through himself, he was grabbed and Eric slammed him into the wall.</p><p>    “Hey, sweetie,” Illinois smiled at him.</p><p>    “C-an’t just l-et you three l-leave,” Eric shrugged.</p><p>    “Ahh, <em> dulcito </em>, you could have just asked for a goodbye kiss,” Illinois smiled, the two of them kissing before Illinois pulled out something that looked like a caulk gun and when he fired it, it shot out a glob of glue that stuck Eric to the wall.</p><p>    “Illy!” Eric shouted in indignation.</p><p>    “Sorry sweetheart, I know you got a job and all, and you’re going to be pissed when you find out what Bim did.”</p><p>    Illinois jumped out the window and smiled at Marvin who was cursing violently.</p><p>    “Nothing personal,” Illinois smiled. “We tried not to hurt your friends too much.”</p><p>    “Fook yeh, yah right bastard,” Marvin spat.</p><p>    Illinois tipped his hat and walked over to Dark, who was mostly ignoring Bim, who was yelling at Dark.</p><p>    “Time,” Dark announced, looking at his watch as Illinois stopped in front of him. “Forty-five minutes.”</p><p>    “We do good?” Yan smiled.</p><p>    “If you were out here, why didn’t you come in to help?” Bim demanded.</p><p>    “And what would you three have learned?” Dark commented dryly, before finally getting a good look at Bim. “Ahh, you must be hungry.”</p><p>    “Obviously!” Bim shouted.</p><p>    Wilford popped into existence, “Am I early?”</p><p>    He gasped and hugged Yan, “How’d you enjoy your time, princess?”</p><p>    “I stabbed a man,” Yan smiled, holding her katana up.</p><p>    The madman laughed, “What about you, Junior?”</p><p>    “I hated it,” Bim decided it,</p><p>    “Maybe that will teach you why you need to be careful,” Dark was checking Illinois over as the Host walked out of the station.</p><p>    “And everything worked out as promised,” the Host smiled.</p><p>    “I kept my end of the bargain, are they here or not?” Dark growled.</p><p>    “The Entity must not kidnap the King of the Squirrels or Yancy, unless they want to leave with him,” the Host warned.</p><p>    “King of the—? Has Kay been the raving lunatic running around the park?” Dark thought on that for a couple seconds, “Fine, but if anything dangerous happens I’ll be forced to protect them how I see fit.”</p><p>    “The heroes only think the Entity and Wilford are threats,” the Host reminded. “If the Entity will wait and listen, the heroes will not attack.”</p><p>    Dark was quiet for a couple seconds before nodded, “We need to be quick, your brother is hungry and we’re all overdue to eat actual food.”</p><p>    The Host nodded, the first thing he did was to help Marvin free himself, Dark summoning Damien’s cane so he would have something to do with his hands. Marvin was always glaring at Dark and Illinois in pure fury.</p><p>    “Yah know yer kids’ are a pile of shite?” Marvin spat.</p><p>    “Well there’s no need to be such a poor sport because they came prepared,” Dark smiled, proudly patting Illinois on the shoulder.</p><p>    Dark became immediately distracted when Silver walked out with King and Yancy, Yancy looking more nervous than King. Something that seemed to make all the other heroes nervous in kind.</p><p>    “I’ve heard you took over the park?” Dark asked King.</p><p>    “I did,” King answered. “So stay the hell out of <em> my </em> park, Old Man.”</p><p>    “Consider it your territory,” Dark promised, “now that I know that it’s yours and not one of those heroes.”</p><p>    “I am one of the heroes, and I’d appreciate you treating me like one,” King insisted.</p><p>    “I refuse to plan a way to kill you, full stop,” Dark refused. “The heroes do not deserve you.”</p><p>    “Well I think they’re great and if you gave them a chance you might like some of them,” King responded.</p><p>    “Come on, Darky,” Wil smiled, appearing behind King and Yancy, wrapping his arms around them. Both of them reflexively smiled at him. “Don’t they look like they’re having fun. They’re out here living life.”</p><p>    “Hey, dad, nice to see you again,” King told Wil, rolled his eyes.</p><p>    “Are they treating you right?” Dark demanded.</p><p>    “Yeah, I like it there,” King insisted.</p><p>    “And you would come home if that changed, right?” Dark demanded.</p><p>    “Yes,” King promised.</p><p>    “I’d go back ta prison,” Yancy answered.</p><p>    “Over the Warden’s dead body,” Dark dismissed immediately, Yancy glaring at him.</p><p>    “Speaking of which, you never talk about how you came into my care,” Dark reminded. “I thought we weren’t mentioning it.”</p><p>    “We aren’t,” Yancy reminded sharply, but looked more that a bit confused. “I’s only told them about my other folks, not how I’s got ta youse guys.”</p><p>    Dark looked thoughtful at that, leaning on his cane. “Interesting.”</p><p>    He turned to look at Bim, “I think I know exactly what to pick up for you Bim. If you’ll be a little patient.”</p><p>    “As long as I get someone’s heart by the end of it,” Bim hissed.</p><p>    “Oh don’t worry, you will, we’ve got quite the nasty little mole in my network,” Dark said and opened up a tear in the Void. Wil dove in with Yan, Illinois and Bim following after him.</p><p>    “I’m very hesitantly trusting you,” Dark reminded the Host. “Don’t let anything happen to them.”</p><p>    “The Host would not let anything happen to them,” the Host promised.</p><p>    Dark then turned to the other heroes. “Next time you arrest one of them again, I won’t be so patient.”</p><p>    “You shouldn’t have raised wanton murderers then,” Silver spat back.</p><p>    “I’m gonna find a way to banish you,” Marvin promised Dark.</p><p>    Dark smiled, stepping backwards into the Void, it sent him to a slightly different location than the rest of his family so he could take care of Bim’s newest craving.</p><p>    And clean house in the process.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a bit of a long fic, and I’m finishing up on it because someone (looks at Dark and Yancy) didn’t want to cooperate while I was trying to write this. If the final chapters aren’t up By tonight hopefully they’re up tomorrow.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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